Chapter 701. Proving (1)

“My liege!” Li Xiaoyu jumped out of the car, and the first thing he did was plant his head on the ground. “Ohhh, my liege! The dignified ruler of all things demonic! Your servant has arrived at last, my liege!”

Li Xiaoyu's voice was filled to the brim with explosive emotions. However, his behavior made some sense considering how long he had been waiting for this moment.

To demonic cultivators, Chang Min was their elder. Their superior. Their guiding light. And a living legend. Before the demon cult completely lost its prestige, Chang Min willingly gave up on everything and volunteered to become the guardian of the Asura's cavern containing the demon cult's inheritance to wait for the demon emperor's eventual return.

If he wished for it, Chang Min could've enjoyed all the riches this world had to offer. Even if the demon cult had lost its power and gradually declined into obscurity and ruination, the cult leader position was still seen as prestigious. Not just Chang Min but even the executives of the demon cult could've lived like kings by utilizing the inheritance for themselves.

However, Chang Min still gave up on everything. He willingly chose to throw everything away and became a mere gatekeeper to serve the greater good of the demon cult. Since that was the case... How could other demonic cultivators not respect him?

But then, someone like that suddenly made a proclamation. He said that the demon emperor had returned!

At first, everyone thought Chang Min was joking. If not, it was merely an excuse to mask the awkwardness of abandoning his post after growing sick and tired of guarding a dingy cave for so long.

People's initial misunderstanding made some sense. The story of the demon emperor was nothing more than a legend, after all. A fairy tale.

This legend said that in the time of the demon cult's great ostracization by the rest of the world, and as its members buckled under the unfairness of it all, the demon emperor would descend once more and guide them to a new world.

No one knew who started this ancient legend all those years ago, but almost none of the current-day demonic cultivators believed it. Every religion had a tale of salvation, after all!

The world was too unforgiving to believe in such a promise of salvation. And no one had the time to wait that long. Only the elders of the demon cult truly believed in that legend.

So, in summary... Some people thought Chang Min was cracking unfunny jokes. Others even thought Chang Min had dementia due to his advanced age. Eventually, though... They all grew to believe Chang Min in the end.

How could they not after confirming the wide-open gates to the Asura's cavern? Only the demon emperor was qualified to open that gateway. In other words, anyone capable of opening it could claim the title of the demon emperor.

In front of the irrefutable proof, skepticism morphed into shock and awe, and people were soon shaken up by indescribable emotions. The demon emperor... The figure from the ancient legend had finally descended among them!

That legend no one believed had become a reality!

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Li Xiaoyu's eyes were quickly clouded over by warm tears. He tried to stay dignified, but his damn tears prevented him from doing so. All those long and hard years spent under persecution simply because he was a demonic cultivator flashed past his mind just then.

For all those years, he had to keep his head bowed. No matter what indignity he had to suffer through, he had to endure it.

Because... demonic cultivators were weak.

The only thing that mattered in the world of martial arts was one's strength. Even justifications and pretexts sided with those with power. Since the demonic cultivators trailed in strength and couldn't win with the justification either... The only thing they could do was lower their heads and beg for mercy.

That had been Li Xiaoyu's story. His entire life. Even so, he only had to endure the injustices as he didn't have long to live, anyway. However, what about the younger demonic cultivators? Li Xiaoyu didn't want them to live the same life as him.

It was fine even if they weren't seen as equals. He also didn't mind not being treated the same as everyone. If only he could witness the scene of the demonic cultivators confidently raising their voices at the orthodox martial artists ruling the world... He'd not have any regrets and die in peace.

Li Xiaoyu thought his dream would never come true. There was no realistic way to flip the situation on its head, after all! But now...!

The dream Li Xiaoyu had been ardently holding on for all these years was finally becoming a reality!

“Ohh, ohh! My liege! My dear demon emperor! The only one under the heavens! We have been waiting for your arrival, sire! We have been ardently waiting for the day of your arrival! We've held vigil while swallowing mud to keep us alive and turned away from the glory of light to keep the faith going! But now, but now! Knowing that all of our waiting has finally been rewarded like this...! This servant can't control his overflowing happiness, my liege!”

“...” The demon emperor remained silent as he stared at the kowtowing Li Xiaoyu.

“We heard that some insidious bastards dare to target you, so we put aside everything and rushed here as soon as possible! My liege, we shall deal with these insidious bastards. There is no need to soil your hands with these piles of trash. Please, do not worry about them and focus on reviving the millenniums of glory for the demo...”

“Hold on. Wait a minute...”

Li Xiaoyu quickly raised his head after noticing hints of hesitation in the demon emperor's voice.

That won't do! The demon emperor was supposed to be a leader of men. A man who would lead the entire world! In that case, how could hesitation or confusion even be allowed to seep into his voice?

'Wait. Could it be that we're not up to his standards?'

That made sense. According to Elder Chang Min, the demon emperor possessed all things related to 'demonic'. In that case, it was possible that someone like him wouldn't hold a favorable view of these demonic cultivators who had barely managed to source and master the remnants of some trashy demonic arts.

Even if the demon emperor was sympathetic... How could he trust these weak demonic cultivators?

“Please do not worry, my liege! We've already mastered our ways of survival. We shall become the fertilizer necessary to revive the glory of the demon cult that used to command heaven and earth!” Li Xiaoyu raised his head as more tears pooled around the edges of his eyes. “Oh... Ohhh! Even your appearance befits the noble title of the demon emperor! Such a noble and...”

Vator finally couldn't take it anymore and raised his voice. “No, listen to me, old man.”

“Yes, my liege?”

“...I'm not the one you seek. Your liege is over there.”

Li Xiaoyu's head slowly turned to the side. Since the demon emperor boasting a gigantic figure waved his hand in denial... He said it was the other person, which meant...

Li Xiaoyu's eyes finally landed on a young man with a fairly-normal physique busy massaging the bridge of his nose.

He falteringly pointed at this young man. “H-him...?”

Vator nodded. “Yes, he's the one.”

“B-b-but...? No matter how much I look, you must be...?” Li Xiaoyu tilted his head in genuine confusion while alternating his gaze between Kang Jin-Ho and Vator.

Zhu Gang, who had been hiding his face with both hands in utter shame, couldn't hold himself back anymore and loudly yelled at Li Xiaoyu, “Look at the demonic qi, please! Demonic qi! Stop looking at the appearance and focus on the demonic qi!”

“Demonic qi?” Li Xiaoyu sobered up and finally focused qi into his eyes. And then... He freaked out and hurriedly planted his head on the dirt in Kang Jin-Ho's direction. “D-demon emperor! My liege! I've committed an unforgivable sin! Please punish this old fool who couldn't see the truth despite still having eyes! This sin, it's...!”

“Kek. Kekekeke!” Vator couldn't hold his laughter and cackled loudly. “If only I knew how amusing the demonic cultivators actually were! I would have vigorously argued against their persecution. They sure know how to tickle my funny bones, don't they!”

Kang Jin-Ho spat out a grand sigh. He knew there was nothing he could do or say even as the big man made fun of him.

“My liege! Please end this sinful life of mine! That is the only fitting punishment. However, may I still be permitted to witness the glory of our demon cult's revival before...”

“That's enough from you.” Kang Jin-Ho abruptly and firmly cut Li Xiaoyu off there.

That was when Li Xiaoyu's lips suddenly clamped shut. No, he wasn't doing so to obey. And he wasn't even trying to do something here, either. It was just that his body automatically responded to Kang Jin-Ho's command.

'Isn't this...?'

Li Xiaoyu's entire body began shuddering.

Didn't Chang Min say it? That there was no need to prove his loyalty? That Li Xiaoyu would instinctively understand why when he finally meets the demon emperor?

Could this reaction be what Chang Min wanted to imply back then? All Li Xiaoyu could do was hold his breath, not daring to raise his voice.

“So, this is the demon cult...?” Kang Jin-Ho slowly scanned the sight spreading out behind him.

The demonic cultivators standing there had been staring at Kang Jin-Ho and Li Xiaoyu in uncertainty and hesitation, but when their gaze met Kang Jin-Ho's piercing eyes... Every single demonic cultivator began shivering as if a lightning bolt had struck them.

Some hurriedly bowed their heads. Some desperately tried to avoid locking eyes with Kang Jin-Ho. And some stared back at him with eyes filled with powerful, turbulent emotions.

Everyone displayed different reactions, but none of that registered in Kang Jin-Ho's mind. His attention was razor-focused on only one thing.

“This? Really?”

A hollow chuckle leaked out of Kang Jin-Ho's lips.

The demon cult... Just how heavy was the weight of that name?

Even before Kang Jin-Ho joined the demon cult, it was the epitome of terror in Zhongyuan. Kids of Gangho grew up fearing the demon cult members more than things like tigers.

Before kids matured, the fear of the demon cult was engraved into their souls to foster hostility from a young age. Teaching one's descendants as strictly as possible about the terror of the demon cult was a must. That was how scary the demon cult was back then.

But... now? This sight before Kang Jin-Ho's eyes was supposed to be the modern era's demon cult?

For some reason, Kang Jin-Ho grew angry. It wasn't as if he held affection or some misguided sense of belonging to the demon cult. To him, the demon cult was merely an organization he was forced to entrust himself in order to survive. While doing that, he gradually accumulated power and position within the cult. And then, he chose to stay since he saw no need to leave an organization he had already grown familiar with.

Kang Jin-Ho was a man from the modern era. To him, a religious cult demanding blind faith was illogical and impossible to accept. That was why he didn't particularly get angry after learning about the demon cult's destruction.

Time was capable of flipping everything on its head, after all.

But this...!

“This is supposed to be the demon cult?”

What Kang Jin-Ho could see was not the followers of the demon cult. No, this was merely the gathering of the defeated rabble broken by the harshness of reality and time. In Kang Jin-Ho's opinion, people shouldn't look like this if they wanted to uphold the name of the demon cult.

Yes, Kang Jin-Ho already knew about this situation. He heard countless times before the tough circumstances facing the modern-era demonic cultivators. Chang Min also told him how demonic cultivators were tormented and persecuted.

However, when the knowledge in his head became a reality he could actually see... Kang Jin-Ho was overcome with this powerful sense of disharmony.

He silently scanned everyone. His expression progressively grew harder and colder as he did so.

Li Xiaoyu obviously noticed the gradual change in his liege's expression. How could he miss that when his wits and senses had been honed through his long years on Earth?

He quickly tried to say something. “My liege...! We shall quickly deal with those insidious bastards. As for the detailed explanation, perhaps it's best to...”

“Didn't I say that's enough from you?”

“...!” Li Xiaoyu urgently clamped his mouth shut.

That was when Morigawa Atsushi decided to butt in. “Are these trash your backup? Ones you've mobilized?”

Kang Jin-Ho silently turned his head and stared at the Japanese while listening to Lee Hyeon-Su's stiff voice coming from the phone's speaker. Although Lee Hyeon-Su wasn't sure exactly what was going on as he was in Korea, his quick wits told him that Kang Jin-Ho was in a bad mood right now.

Morigawa Atsushi continued to speak. “Hah! Did you really think you could resist us with a group of such weaklings? Such useless piles of trash?”

“Useless weaklings, huh...” Kang Jin-Ho smirked quietly. That grin seemed oddly twisted.

That helped him confirm something. Even though he didn't think this was the case, it seemed Kang Jin-Ho had been subconsciously attached to the demon cult. As proof, his innards twisted into knots when this Japanese man called the demonic cultivators trash and weak.

However, he should acknowledge the truth. These martial artists were indeed deserving of that label. People who didn't even get their basics right couldn't be called demonic cultivators just because they picked up some random demonic arts from somewhere.

Even so...!

“Well, you aren't wrong about that,” Kang Jin-Ho quietly muttered while taking out a fresh cigarette from his inner pocket. Then he silently mouthed it.

Click...

He lit it up with a lighter and slowly sucked in the unhealthy smoke. The cigarette's smoke washed over every nook and cranny of his lungs before exhaling into the air.

“However, you should know something else before running your mouth.”

Demonic qi began leaking out from Kang Jin-Ho's figure.

This location was already filled to the brim with demonic qi emitted by the demonic cultivators who had been agitated and stimulated by Kang Jin-Ho's presence. However, Kang Jin-Ho's demonic qi was different from theirs.

His demonic qi couldn't even be categorized as the same thing as what these demonic cultivators had been emitting until now. His qi was as dark, dense and thick as pitch-black tar oozing out from the depths of Hell. As demonic qi continued to leak out of him, Kang Jin-Ho's eyes gradually began glowing redder and redder.

“The only one permitted to call them weak is me. So, I shall teach you that trash like you shouldn't dare.”

The demon emperor's rage instantly blanketed the world.